dimmer switch

j55

i have a dimmer swith that controls a dinning
room light
it has quit working i understand eletrical alittle
what confuses me about this is both leads are black
any way for what i can tell there is power
inside the outlet box
i cant totally isolate which one works
there are mutiple neutrals and hots
and i dont know what goes to where
i replaced the switch with a new one
still doesnt work
ive checked breaker
any suggestions

Speedy Petey

Did you replace it exactly as the old one was?
Did you undo any other splices in the box? If so WHY?

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czars

If both your original dimmer and your new dimmer have two black wires and a green wire, it doesn't matter which black wire connects to power or which black wire connects to the light. I assumed that you connected the two black wires of the new dimmer to the wires that connected to the original dimmer and that the new dimmer does not work. Let us know if this is what you did.

kbsparky

Gotta ask here ... did you check/replace the bulb?

BigJimmy

Q: The light above the electrical engineer's dining room table goes out. What is the engineer's first step in troubleshooting?

A: Tear the fixture off of the ceiling and check the wiring.

Had a buddy who had an electrical problem. Recessed lighting in downstairs hallway is controlled from both ends by 3W switches. Lights all stopped working. Checked bulbs (OK), cycled breaker (OK), cycled wall switch (OK-But this is a good time to point out that he only checked one of the two switches). Calls in electrician. Electrician finds the lever on the second three-way sitting in the mid position. Cost-$125.

D'oh!

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toocheaptohire

To tell which black wire is hot, can you use a voltage tester like the one shown here (HD stocks it)?

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